Law Professor: Facebook Social Ads Could Be Illegal

A University of Minnesota law professor wrote in a blog post this week that inserting users' names and photos next to ads for products they recently used or endorsed could violate privacy laws in states such as New York and California.

"Users are only asked in general if they want to share information, not if they want their name and picture to be featured in an ad for some product," wrote William McGeveran.
Companies need to obtain "written consent" before using a person's image or likeness, according to privacy statutes.

"I don't see how broad general consent to share one's information translates into the specific written consent necessary for advertisers to use one's name (and often picture) under this law," McGeveran wrote. He has "little doubt" that Facebook will appropriate user information for the "benefit of Facebook and advertisers alike."

Social Ads, which debuted on Tuesday, will allow companies to create their own Facebook pages, and then allow users to add company information and updates to their own profiles and mini feeds.

Facebook's chief privacy officer, Chris Kelly, told the NYT blog that McGeveran's interpretation was far too broad. Users choose to link themselves to a specific product, and this could be interpreted as the digital version of written consent, he said.

"While none of this may be illegal, it does have ominous implications," Hugh D'Andrade of the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote in a recent blog post. "The personal data we now use to keep in touch with friends will soon help corporations target us more effectively. What's to stop this wealth of data from creeping into law enforcement activities?"

"The bottom line is that users need to know what is being done with their information, and should have the opportunity to opt out of marketing schemes if they choose," he wrote.

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